Network resource management addresses the need for ensuring that a particular network has appropriate resources to provide a customer with an intended quality of service. Current networks support different types of applications with different requirements. Some applications require very strict commitment regarding resource availability for some or all of corresponding traffic components. For example, services supporting applications that use audio and video components, along with mission critical tasks, particularly need a reliable system that ensures compliance with a service level agreement. An efficient network resource management system optimizes allocation of network resources by managing different aspects of a network (e.g., configuration of queuing, traffic scheduling, traffic coloring, path selection, path manipulation, etc.) to satisfy a maximum number of service requests while optimizing utilization of the network. User mobility (e.g., via mobile communication devices or mobile devices) imposes additional challenges to network resource management systems. For example, a variable link quality associated with wireless access technologies and a possibility of using ad-hoc connections add complexity to the resource management problem. Current networks utilize a variety of queuing and scheduling schemes, such that network performance metrics are likely to be unique for each traffic stream.
Network protocols that support mobility aim at ensuring appropriate forwarding of packets as a mobile device changes its network attachment point and/or technology used to gain access to the network. To ensure that an acceptable quality of experience is observed by the mobile device, and considering different available applications, each traffic component requires appropriate treatment per a corresponding class of service. For a typical mobile device, application traffic is carried over multiple networks. Appropriate treatment is required on each network element along a path on which traffic will be forwarded. Mobile-IP (Internet protocol) allows mobile devices to continue receiving datagrams (e.g., any type or form of data, such as packet or non-packet data) wherever the mobile devices are attached to the Internet. Mobile-IP enables the mobile devices (also known as IP hosts, mobile hosts, or mobile nodes) to move between different sub-networks without tearing down established transport layer sessions. The mobility of the mobile devices is supported by two agents, a home agent (HA) and a foreign agent (FA). An element that is communicating with a mobile device is referred to as a correspondent node (CN). However, an environment supporting mobility and differentiated treatment presents significant challenges for network resource management systems.
To function in an optimized fashion, a network resource management system requires access to accurate information regarding current values of performance-related metrics, such as delay, packet loss, jitter, etc. Such performance metric values may differ over multiple network segments and over short periods of time. In addition, current wireless technologies may present a user with multiple options (e.g., each with different characteristics and performance aspects) to gain access to a provider network. A network resource management system needs visibility into the performance metrics when each of those options is considered.
However, current network resource management systems either do not consider current performance aspects or rely on non-integrated performance monitoring systems to provide such information, which creates interfacing and interoperability issues. Current performance monitoring systems generate and receive test packets between two or more pre-identified elements, and evaluate performance metrics based on results across those elements. Such performance monitoring systems are typically standalone, are not designed to support mobile environments, and are incapable of identifying a root cause of performance issues which are triggered by mobility-related events in a mobile environment. Thus, performance aspects that are affected by mobility events can get misinterpreted by such systems. Without visibility into protocols and states associated with a mobile environment, current network resource management systems fail to optimize a provided service and network utilization.